Mel's Book Corner

Title: Last Stop On Market Street Genre: Multicultural Author: Matt de la Pena Major Awards: Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal Age Group: 1st-3rd grade This is the story of CJ and his nana who ride a bus to Market Street each Sunday. Though this is their weekly routine, CJ starts to feel different about it this day. He asks why they have to wait in the rain for the bus. His nana replies, "Trees get thirsty, too." He asks why they don't have a car. His nana replies, "What do we need a car for? We got a bus that breathes fire, and old Mr. Dennis, who always has a trick for you." He asks why a man on the bus can't see. His nana replies, "Some people watch the world with their ears." He asks why it is so dirty in their part of town. His nana replies, "Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, you're a better witness for what's beautiful." This statement completely shifts CJ's mood, making him see the world in a new way. ...

Title: Same, Same but Different Genre: Multicultural Author: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw Major Awards: None Age Group: Kindergarten-2nd grade This is a sweet story of two pen pals living on different sides of the world. Elliot lives in America, and Kailash lives in India. Elliott started the pen pal process by mailing a picture of his world to Kailash in India. Kailash mailed back a picture of his world in India, and while they looked a bit different, they were both still the world. Elliot mailed a picture of himself in his tree house and said "I love to climb trees." Kailash also mailed a picture of himself in a tree, but with monkeys and exotic animals in the tree with him. He said "I love to climb trees too. Same, same but different!" Elliott then mailed a picture of him and his family in front of their house and said, "I live in a red brick building with my mom, dad, and sister." Kailash mailed a picture back and said, "I live with my family ...

Title: Sumo Joe Genre: Multicultural Author: Mia Wenjen Major Awards: None Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade This is the story of Sumo wrestler, Joe and his little sister. Sumo Joe spends Saturday afternoons Sumo wrestling with his friends. They build a "ring" out of pillows and wrestle in the living room. As they put their wrestling gear on, they state in Japanese what each object they are putting on is called. First they stretch, shiko, and then do a drill called teppo. As they are getting into their wrestling, Joe's little sister comes in the room and wants to join. Well, this is a "boys only zone", so Joe isn't keen on her joining. She keeps on asking, so he agrees to at least let her try. In the end, his little sister rises to the occasion and takes Joe down! I am not sure that I would want this in my classroom. It didn't have much of a plot to me; it was mostly just about a bunch of boys wrestling and shouting Japanese words. It just didn't...

Title: Home at Last Genre: Multicultural Author: Susan Middleton Elya Major Awards: None Age Group: 3rd-5th grade This is the story of Ana Patino and her family, who have recently moved to the United States from Mexico because of her Papa's job. Ana was excited for this new time in her life, despite knowing no English upon entering school the first day. Though she could not speak any English that first day, by the end of the school day, she had already learned a ton. Her parents did not know any English, so as she gets home, they ask her in Spanish how school was, and she states that she likes it. Although Ana is loving this change, she knows that her Mama is struggling. Ana and her father are starting to learn English, but her mother will have no part in it. This makes it difficult, especially as she goes to the grocery store and gets overcharged for meat, but cannot do anything about it since she knows no English. It is also difficult as Ana gets important letters sent h...

Title: Too Many Tamales Genre: Multicultural Author: Gary Soto Major Awards: None Age Group: 2nd-4th grade This is a story of a Hispanic family gathering together on Christmas Eve to celebrate. They have a tradition of making tamales, and Maria decides to help her parents make them this year. This year more than ever, Maria feels grown up: her mother lets her wear lipstick, perfume, and she even gets to help make tamales. As she helps her mother, she thinks to herself that she wishes she could wear her mother's wedding ring. Her mother places the ring on the counter as she prepares the food, and as her mother leaves the kitchen, Maria picks it up and puts it on her thumb to admire it. As her mother comes back into the kitchen, Maria notices that the ring is gone. She assumes it went into the tamale dough, but she cannot not tell her mother yet. As her cousins start to arrive at her house, she takes them upstairs, explaining the situation she has herself in. Maria and her c...

Title: Bebe Goes Shopping Genre: Multicultural Author: Susan Middleton Elya Major Awards: None Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten This is a story about a little baby taking a trip to the supermercado - the grocery store, with his mother. On each page, there are words in Spanish and in English, describing things they encounter while shopping. The little baby wants to help his mother grocery shop, but instead he wrecks havoc and causes stress for his mother. He gets annoyed that he cannot help, so he starts kicking, knocking over displays of food, throwing things from the cart onto the floor, and tries to escape from the grocery cart. His mother becomes infuriated, but then sees a display for animal crackers. She gives them to the baby, and this distracts him for the rest of the shopping time. In the end, the baby starts to act better and even gets a balloon as he leaves.  I would like this book in my classroom because it is a great introduction to the Spanish language for ...